MOEE lowers price of electricity meter boxes for residents

Fees for residential electricity meter boxes will be revised downwards with effect from April 1 according to an official statement from the Electricity Supply Enterprise under the Ministry of Electricity and Energy (MOEE) l

Under the new pricing scheme, consumers will be organised under rural use, small-city use and big-city use and charged different rates under each category. Overall, it will be cheaper for consumers, according to the MOEE statement.

Rural users will be charged a total of K35,000 for a meter box and an extra K10,000 of additional fees including deposits, cabling, electricity connection and supervision.

Small-city users and big-city users will be charged a total of K75,000 and K90,000, respectively, including additional fees. After the boxes are installed, electricity costs will vary depending on location. Myanmar currently does not produce the meter boes, which are imported from Japan, Germany and South Korea. As such, meter box prices fluctuate based on import prices, an MOEE official told The Myanmar Times.

The MOEE has purchased the meter boxes under a tender arrangement and is now making temporary payments on behalf of consumers, The Myanmar Times understands.

The move comes after the MOEE announced earlier this year that it would be importing liquefied natural gas (LNG), which will be converted into electricity for domestic use. This will be done at three power plants in Kanbauk, Tanintharyi Region, Mee Laung Gyaing, Ayeyarwady Region and Ahlone, Yangon Region, which have already been given the green light to commence construction.

Currently, the MOEE is still negotiating the terms of several power purchase agreements with the operators of the three plants. This will determine the amount of power that will be purchased and distributed to the public over the next three years.

Insiders say electricity generated in this manner will not come cheap. In February, Prasanth Kakaraparthi, an analyst at Wood Mackenzie, told The Myanmar Times that the conversion of LNG to electricity could add $1-$2.5 per million British Thermal Units to electricity costs, excluding import costs.

The government, which is already two years into its term, has promised to double the electricity currently produced to over 6,000 megawatts over the next three years.

NB: The best way to find information on this website is to key in your search terms into the Search Box in the top right corner of this web page. E.g. of search terms would be “property research report”, ”condominium law”, “Puma Energy”, “MOGE”, “yangon new town”,”MECTEL”, “hydropower”, etc.